Author: Bob Anderson
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Warming and the Water Cycle: More than Just a Faster Wetter Wet and Drier Dry
One of the most serious consequences of global warming is its predicted impact on the water cycle. A new study, described below, presents evidence that the global water cycle is changing even faster than predicted. A further concern is that future rainfall patterns may be extremely variable in both space and time. As the atmosphere…
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Does temperature control atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations?
A record of temperature and atmospheric CO2 from Antarctic ice cores shows the tight relationship between the two over the past 800,000 years (see figure). It is frequently asserted that changes in Earth’s temperature or, more specifically, the temperature of the ocean, caused atmospheric CO2 concentrations to vary over that time period. The underlying principle…
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Who cares about the Southern Ocean?
Scientists are often asked to explain why their work is important. I have been asked this question several times since the publication of a paper entitled “Wind driven upwelling in the Southern Ocean and the deglacial rise in atmospheric CO2” (Science, 13 March, 2009). I’m going to try to answer it here. In the paper…
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Wally Broecker wins prestigious BBVA Foundation award for Climate Research
Earlier today it was announced that Wallace S. Broecker, Newberry Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University, has received the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Climate Change Research. In announcing the award, the jury cited Wally for his seminal research on ocean chemistry and for pioneering the development of Earth System…
